In a major strategic alignment ahead of the November 4 local government elections, GOOD party secretary-general and City of Cape Town mayoral candidate Brett Herron has announced his party’s consolidation with RISE Mzansi as an “incremental step” toward fully merging the two political parties for the 2029 national elections.

Herron detailed how the alliance will operate on the ground, its strict rules for coalition governance, and a restructured municipal model aimed at dismantling systemic poverty.

According to Herron, GOOD and RISE Mzansi have fully integrated their candidates and campaign structures to prevent split caucuses within key metropolitan councils, highlighting that in Cape Town, the joint campaign runs entirely under the GOOD party banner.

This means all RISE Mzansi supporters and candidates in the metro are integrated into GOOD's structures, he explained.

Herron said in Johannesburg, RISE Mzansi is leading the campaign and will be the sole party on the ballot there, with GOOD activists and candidates absorbed into RISE Mzansi's structures.

He noted that while previous attempts to form a singular new party (under the banner "Unite for Change") faced timeline constraints, the current integration serves as a functional foundation for total consolidation by 2029.

He highlighted that cooperation has been seamless owing to a “deep alignment” on local government policies and values, contrasting it with prior failed unity talks with other political parties that stumbled over foreign policy and human rights stances.

Should the 2026 elections result in hung councils, Herron stated that any potential coalition partnership would depend on a shared commitment to GOOD’s core municipal pledges, noting that coalition parties must agree to directly address the cost-of-living crisis affecting residents.

He said municipalities must actively resolve spatial segregation by deploying innovative housing models rather than acting merely as passive implementation agents for national housing programmes.

Herron pointed out that municipalities must enforce a single standard of infrastructure, actively redirecting investment into historically neglected communities and that coalition partners must view violent crime through a community development lens rather than relying solely on policing and military deployment.

To prevent the coalition instability seen in previous council terms, Herron revealed that a joint leadership structure between GOOD and RISE Mzansi will strictly govern elected officials.

All councillors are bound by signed agreements requiring explicit, centralised authority before they can participate in any motions to elect or remove a mayor.

He emphasised that GOOD monitors performance agreements on a quarterly basis and maintains a record of terminating representatives – including top-five leadership figures – for misconduct or underperformance.

Addressing concerns about the financial feasibility of his anti-poverty manifesto, Herron maintained that all proposals fall squarely within the constitutional mandate of local government, asserting that a municipality cannot ignore informal settlements on private or provincial land, stating that access to water, electricity, and sanitation remains an immediate local government responsibility.

The party plans to divert funds away from private contractors by in-sourcing municipal functions such as park maintenance, street repairs, and security services to maintain fairer wages and optimise public spending.

Instead of shutting down informal home shops or backyard mechanics owing to zoning laws, GOOD proposes leveraging vacant public land to build commercial plazas and industrial hubs, helping small-scale traders operate in a compliant, secure environment.

Confronting criticisms regarding candidate selection, Herron noted that GOOD is currently engaged in a legal dispute with the DA over transparency.

He clarified that GOOD’s ward candidates concurrently serve as proportional representation candidates, with their final list rankings determined transparently based on campaign performance and ward outcomes.

Furthermore, to combat what he says is a growing trust deficit between residents and local government, Herron proposed devolving real decision-making and budgetary powers to sub-councils.

This shift aims to transition sub-councils from toothless administrative bodies into hyper-local legal avenues where civic petitions and community-led initiatives are formally processed and implemented.